HOW TO BUILD AN APPLICATION LIKE GOOGLE ASSISTANT

With the advancement in technology that day isn’t far when we won’t be able to survive without technology. Talking to artificial intelligence is no longer just a myth. Your smart watch, your iPhone or even your television you can communicate with artificial intelligence. There is immense scope and a magnificent amount of job opportunities in this sector in the future. Artificial intelligence is the future! A day when we won’t be able to thrive without virtual assistants isn’t as far as we anticipated.

With the onrush on technology users definitely get the opportunity to select from a huge domain of options but, it raises an issue for the developers. Applications with voice search options are so trendy that in the near future applications which are devoid of this feature might be at risk. So, in order to keep up with the progressing times developers undoubtedly need to focus of innovative smart voice features.

Now, after getting a brief insight into the topic of virtual assistants the question that emerges to the surface of every single reader is, ‘how exactly is the voice assistant included in an application?’

So, let’s delve into the gory details which will end up answering your questions and curiosities.

HOW IS A  VOICE ASSISTANT INCLUDED IN AN APPLICATION?

There are three ways you can use to include a virtual assistant in your app.

The three ways using which you can make your app understand verbal language and enable it to keep up with the conversation are:

1. The first method:

The first method focuses on integrating the existing voice technologies into your application by using special Application programming interface and other developmental tools.

2. The second method:

The second method enables you to build your very own intelligent assistant with the help of open source services and Application programming interface (API’s).

3. The third method:

The third method includes building your own intelligent assistant from scratch and then including it in your application.

Each of these three ways is excellent. But, prioritize using either the first or the second option as they are easier alternatives in comparison to the third one. Building your own intelligent assistant might prove to be an extremely difficult and nearly impossible task to accomplish.

To clarify all your doubts and brief you about the benefits of each one of these three methods we will dive into the details of all these methods.

THE BEST VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS:

Siri, Google now and Cortana are three world class virtual assistants. Of course, there are plenty of other options to choose from but these three are certainly the most widely known and the most efficient.

We will be focusing on these three aforementioned virtual assistants and in a study conducted by MindMeld these three are the number one choices people prefer.

Siri

With the release of ios 10 it was announced that Siri can be integrated with the apps that work in the following areas:

• Audio and video calls
• Messaging and contacts
• Payments via Siri
• Photos search
• Workout Car booking

A special SiriSDK was launched by apple in order to enable the integration of the Siri intelligent assistant in the apps which satisfy the aforementioned characteristics.

This is a scheme on intents processing:

Google now:

The Google Now intelligent assistant might not be as fastidious as the apple intelligent assistant but it has certainly shown the most loyalty to its users. There are no rigid requirements for the design. Along with all this the approvement period of Google Now is shorter in comparison.

But with all these benefits of using Google Now the few shortcomings it has are:

• Google Now works with a selected few apps only.

Like eBay, Lyft, Airbnb, and others.

• The apps are not allowed to make their special now cards using API’s.

A FEW INDEPENDENT SERVICES TO MAKE YOUR OWN VOICE ASSISTANT:

• Mellissa
• Jasper
• ai

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN INTELLIGENT ASSISTANT?

Making your own google assistant will be a simples task for you only if you possess the appropriate skills and sources for the task.

Basic technologies needed for building an IVA:

1. Voice/speech to text: STT
2. Text to speech: TTS
3. Intelligent tagging and decision making
4. Image recognition
5. Noise control
6. Voice biometrics
7. Speech compression
8. Voice interface

The processing of voice and text data either takes place either on the server itself or on the device.

DECISION MAKING:

With the miscellany of so many options to choose from it becomes an extremely difficult task to choose which method to choose to make your intelligent virtual assistant or an IVA. Each method does come with its own benefits however, it’s immensely crucial to choose the best method which suits the purpose of your application.

Each method comes with its own perks as well as shortcomings. Choosing the correct method for your application is the first step towards developing your very own Google Now or Siri.

If you are still unsure as to how to develop your intelligent virtual assistant please feel free to surface any questions and queries.

I hope all the hard work and research I put into writing this blog turns out to be fruitful.

Thank you for reading this blog!